Men's Basketball

Northridge, Calif. -Vinnie McGhee came off the bench to score 19 points to lead Cal State Northridge to an 81-74 comeback victory over Cal State Bakersfield in a non-league men's basketball game on Monday night at The Matadome.

McGhee, a redshirt sophomore, hit 7-of-11 shots from the floor, including three 3-pointers in five attempts. McGhee played 23 minutes.

Senior forward Kenny Daniels added 16 points, including 8-of-9 free throws. Four of those free throws came in the final seconds to help seal the win for the Matadors. Cal State Northridge is now 3-3.

Lenny Daniel also played well for the Matadors with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Cal State Bakersfield fell to 1-3. Donavan Bragg led the Roadrunners with 26 points. Bragg hit 9-of-14 shots from the floor. Four of his nine baskets came from behind the arc. Stephon Carter added 15 points and eleven rebounds.

The game was tied seven times, and there were eight lead changes.

It was 55-55 with 10:31 remaining in the game. It was 57-57 with 9:24 left. It was 60-60 with 8:10 left. It was 62-62 with 7:37 left.

Then things got really interesting. With CSB holding a 64-62 lead with 6:37 remaining on the clock, McGhee went to work hitting two straight three-pointers to give the Matadors a 68-64 lead with 6:06 remaining.

Cal State Northridge led 74-70 with 49 seconds on the clock. A free throw by Willie Galick gave the Matadors a 75-70 lead. Galick missed his first second free throw, but Kenny Daniels grabbed the rebound and was fouled resulting in two made free throws to give CSUN a 77-70 lead.

Daniels later added two more free throws to give CSUN a 79-72 lead. Daniels sealed the victory with a dunk shot with 13 seconds remaining.

The visiting Roadrunners led throughout much of the first half including a 32-22 lead with 4:21 left in the first half. It was CSB's largest lead in the first 20 minutes.

Then Cal State Bakersfield fell apart and Matador starting building a huge momentum. A ten-point deficit (22-32) turned into an eight point Matador halftime lead at 42-34. Ten of the team's 20 points were turned in by McGhee, who played nine minutes in the first half. In all, five different CSUN players scored in the 20-point late first half rally which included two key defensive steals by Therin Taylor.

The Matadors jumped to a 3-0 lead on a basket and free throw by sophomore forward Michael Lizarraga, who was making his first collegiate start.

However, the Roadrunners scored the next eight points, thanks in part to two three-pointers by Bragg and Trent Blakely, respectively.

Cal State Bakersfield then upped its lead to eight points, 15-7, with 15:02 remaining in the first half.

Cal State Northridge then staged its own rally with six straight points to cut the CSB lead to two points, 15-13, with 13:05 left.

But again the Roadrunners staged their own rally. The visitors scored ten of the game's next 12 points to take a sizable 25-15, lead with 8:16 left in the first half.

Back came CSUN on four straight free throws by Raymond Cody and Galick to cut the CSB lead to six points, 25-19, with 7:05 remaining before intermission.

Again, CSB took command as a three-pointer by Bryan Emanuel upped the visitor lead to nine points, 28-19, at the 6:45 mark.

Cal State Bakersfield proved to be a pesky bunch. An eight-point halftime lead for Cal State Northridge quickly turned into a 54-51 lead for CSB with 15 minutes to play. A CSB dunk by Carter and a layup by Bragg gave CSB a three-point lead.

The Matadors return to action on Dec. 3 against the University of Idaho at The Matadome. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m.